28 'Super 30' students crack IIT-JEE entrance

The IIT report card could not have read any better for Super-30 founder and teacher Anand Kumar.

'Super 30', a brainchild of noted mathematician Anand Kumar founded in 2002, provides free of cost IIT coaching to students belonging to economically weaker sections of the society. The students are also provided with free fooding and lodging.

Twenty eight students from Kumar's Super-30 cracked the IIT-JEE (Advanced), the results for which were declared on Friday.

The mood at Kumar's residence in Patna, from where he runs Super-30, was overpowering as the successful students basked in the new found glory in front of camera crews.

"Their hard work has paid off and Super-30 has again proved talent requires nothing but right encouragement and opportunity," said Kumar, pointing towards Jharkhand's Alok Ranjan (ranked 8 in the physically-challenged category).

"For him, physical handicap was no hindrance and he has proved by dint of hard work."

From the son of a daily wage earner, roadside vendor, private tutor and magazine vendor, they all made it to the IIT.

Joy knew no bounds for Bhanu Pratap (ranked 3,802 OBC) from Uttar Pradesh. His father Rampyare Pratap is a labourer.

Shivangi Gupta (ranked 1,457, OBC), who stayed with Kumar's family and shared the room of his mother, was with her father Girish Chandra Gupta, who has a small shop of books and copies in UP's remote village.

"I want to become an IAS officer," she said.

Hajipur's Ankit (ranked 2615, OBC) lost his father, a lineman in telephone department, last year in a road accident. But his jobless mother wanted him to study despite financial constraints. "At Super 30, I had nothing to think about. I only had to study," Ankit said.

The tears in the eyes of Yasmeen Shafi and Farhad Shafi said it all. Their son Hanzala (ranked 732 OBC) had, under Kumar, managed to achieve what they never dreamt of.

Afsar Nath Mishra, a Sanskrit teacher and priest from Banka held the hands of his daughter, was also proud of the achievement of his daughter Preeti Kumari, "I think joining Super-30 was the turning point for her," she said.

Super 30 is run under the banner of 'Ramanujan School of Mathematics', by Kumar. Established in 2002, the program selects 30 meritorious and talented candidates each year from economically backward sections of society and trains them for the IIT-JEE.

"I have seen what lack of opportunity means. I missed the opportunity to study in Cambridge because of acute financial crisis and that is what inspired me to start Super-30. I hope from here, the students will turn a new leaf and always keep in mind that they also owe something to the society to help many others like them," Kumar said.